A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
A source code listing of a computer program for practicing the invention is submitted as a microfiche appendix consisting of 34 frames (2 identical microfiche copies are submitted).
This invention relates generally to graphical user interfaces of computer systems and more specifically to a method for displaying a series of three dimensional appearing button images in response to user inputs.
This application claims priority of provisional application Ser. No. 60/054,522, filed on Aug. 4, 1997, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
This application is also related to a design patent application entitled Three Dimensional Appearing Computer Generated Input Icon For A Graphical User Interface, Ser. No. 29/073,892, filed on Jun. 26, 1997, now pending.
On-screen input buttons selectable by a user through use of a cursor and a mouse have long been a staple of graphical user interfaces for personal computers. Typically, the user moves the mouse and a corresponding cursor is moved on the computer monitor""s display. When a user desires to instruct the application program being executed by the computer to execute a function, the user positions the cursor over a user input button and depresses a button on the mouse. The computer detects the depression of the button, determines the present location of the cursor on the display, and notifies the application program of the input event and the location of the cursor at the time of the push of the button. The application program then determines what action to take in response to the input event. The application program may decide to accept the user input as a logical depression of the selected button and update the display accordingly. The display of the user input button is usually changed in some way to indicate to the user that the input selection has been accepted and processed by the program.
Although widely used, this approach exhibits several deficiencies. When a user moves the cursor near a selected button, the user is not sure when the cursor is actually within the confines of the button. When the on-screen user input button is depressed (that is, xe2x80x9cactivatedxe2x80x9d), the display of the depressed button is often difficult to distinguish from the display of the undepressed button, leading to confusion on the part of the user. Additionally, most user input buttons are represented as squares or rectangles, which are hard to represent on the display in a depressed state in a manner which is easy to recognize and aesthetically pleasing to the user.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a system and method for displaying on a screen of a computer monitor an oval shaped user input button as part of a graphical user interface in such a way that the button is aesthetically pleasing to the user because it appears to be three dimensional. The button is initially displayed in an inactive state to suggest to the user that the button is not currently available for selection. The button is displayed in an active state when the application program will accept user input from the button. The button is displayed in an entered state when the button is being selected by the user. Finally, the button is displayed in a pressed state when the user actually selects via the input device the command or function represented by the button. In all of these states, the button appears to be three dimensional to the user through the use of perspective views of oval buttons, a simulated light source, and shading.
A system for simulating push button operation on the screen of a display device includes means for displaying on the screen a first oval and second oval spaced below the first oval a first predetermined distance to simulate an undepressed three dimensional mechanical push button, an input device for selecting the simulated push button, and means responsive to the input device for displaying on the display the first oval and the second oval spaced below the first oval a second predetermined distance shorter than the first distance to simulate a depressed three dimensional mechanical push button when a user input is received from the input device.
The method of displaying a simulated three dimensional mechanical button in a graphical user interface includes the steps of displaying on the screen a first oval and second oval spaced below the first oval a first predetermined distance to simulate an undepressed three dimensional mechanical push button, selecting the simulated push button, and displaying on the display the first oval and the second oval spaced below the first oval a second predetermined distance shorter than the first distance to simulate a depressed three dimensional mechanical push button when a user input is received from the input device.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein is shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and are not restrictive.